Dr. Li (Liam) Chen will join the Pathology Department as an Assistant Professor in Summer 2012. He pursued his medical studies at Shandong Medical University in China, and his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta in Canada. He was subsequently a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Mel Feany studying neurodegenerative disease, and completed AP/NP training (Brigham and Women’s Hospital) and a Molecular Pathology fellowship (Harvard Medical School). His primary clinical involvement will be on the neuropathology autopsy service.
His research interests focus on understanding the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. He will use Drosophila as a model to study the mechanisms underlying central nervous system malfunction in humans. By expressing pathological human genes in the fly, he can generate abnormal phenotypes, such as slowed motor activity or degeneration of the retina. These phenotypes can then be used in conjunction with the rich genetic toolbox that Drosophila researchers have developed to identify pathways that contribute to the degeneration. Their small size, rapid generation time, and low costs for maintenance make fruit flies ideal for studying neurodegenerative disease. The Drosophila models provide a platform for genome-wide screens and unbiased genetic screens to identify components of pathological pathways.